Asthma News and Research

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Asthma is a common inflammatory disease affecting the airways that leads to shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. Symptoms range from mild to severe but are generally manageable with appropriate treatment.

Pediatrics researchers identify major gene location responsible for EoE

Pediatrics researchers have identified the first major gene location responsible for a severe, often painful type of food allergy called eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). In this disease, which may cause weight loss, vomiting, heartburn and swallowing difficulties, a patient may be unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

7 Mar 2010

RWJF awards $480,000 grant to improve clinical care for low-weight babies

Researchers at UC Irvine and the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) will monitor the day-to-day health of low-birth-weight babies and their parents as part of a comprehensive initiative designed to combat chronic illnesses associated with low-weight births.

5 Mar 2010

Worm proteins may provide option in management of gastrointestinal inflammation in IBD patients

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) suffer from chronic inflammation of the gut leading to gastrointestinal motility alterations with symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramps and diarrhea that profoundly affect their quality of life. The lack of exposure to worm infections, as a result of improved living standards and medical conditions, might have contributed to the increased incidence of IBD in the Western world.

5 Mar 2010

Gene involved in susceptibility and resistance to TB identified

University of Washington researchers have identified a gene involved in susceptibility and resistance to tuberculosis. This same gene, they have found, has a role in the severity of leprosy, which is caused by a related pathogen. The researchers also have learned why this gene is important for susceptibility.

5 Mar 2010

Toxicologists, environmental health scientists to discuss on safeguarding public health at SOT meeting

The government's leading toxicologists and environmental health scientists will share their latest scientific accomplishments, offer continuing education courses, discuss funding and training opportunities, receive input on future research priorities, and more, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting.

5 Mar 2010

Using high-resolution CT-scans to screen for LAM is cost-effective in non-smoking women

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have found that using high-resolution CT-scans to screen for lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or LAM, is cost-effective in non-smoking women between 25 and 54 who come to the emergency room for the first time with a collapsed lung.

4 Mar 2010

Embedded wireless sensors in senior's homes to detect onset of dementia or physical infirmities

Carnegie Mellon University researchers in the Quality of Life Technology Center (QoLTC) will embed wireless sensors in the residences of about 50 older adults who live alone to see if they can detect subtle changes in everyday activities that indicate the onset of dementia or physical infirmities.

4 Mar 2010

Philadelphia FRESH project: Door to door smoking cessation treatment for smokers with young children

In underserved areas like North Philadelphia, existing research shows a nearly 10 percent higher smoking rate than in the general population, with a lower quit rate to boot. The consequences of this public health problem are magnified for new mothers that smoke, as they also expose their babies to the ill effects of second-hand smoke.

4 Mar 2010

Study: 73% of disadvantaged kids in Los Angeles County have untreated caries

A huge percentage of underprivileged kids in Los Angeles County have infectious dental disease that's gone unchecked, according to a study led by the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California.

4 Mar 2010

Beta blockers improve heart function; eliminate need for implantable cardiac devices

New Saint Louis University research has found that beta blockers, a class of drugs used to prevent the progression of heart failure and manage arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) and hypertension (high blood pressure), are underused in heart failure patients who receive implantable cardiac devices.

4 Mar 2010

FDA's recommendations over LABAs: AANMA advises patients to make informed decisions

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) encourages patients to make informed decisions about recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations affecting patients using asthma medications known as long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) or 12-hour bronchodilators: Advair, Foradil, Serevent and Symbicort.

3 Mar 2010

Majority of PI patients can be switched to IgPro20 without dose adjustment

Data from a European multicenter (non-IND study) showing that patients with PI who switched to IgPro20 from previously available SCIg formulations achieved comparable IgG trough levels without dosage adjustment, resulting in significantly less administration volume. The data were presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, US.

3 Mar 2010

Step-up treatments may benefit children with asthma on low-dose inhaled corticosteroids

Children with asthma who continue to have symptoms while using low-dose inhaled corticosteroids could benefit from increasing the dosage or adding one of two asthma drugs, a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and other institutions finds.

3 Mar 2010

Merck’s MF/F Phase III study data presented at AAAAI annual meeting

Data from two Phase III studies of Merck’s investigational fixed-dose combinations of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate (MF/F) were presented by researchers today in two poster presentations at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting.

3 Mar 2010

Study: LABA can be effective step-up treatment for children whose asthma is not well controlled

For children whose asthma is not well controlled and on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids, a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) may be the most effective of three possible step-up treatments. National Jewish clinician-scientists Stanley Szefler, Joseph Spahn, Ronina Covar Gary Larsen and Lynn Taussig, and colleagues in the NIH-funded Childhood Asthma Research and Education Network published their findings March 2, 2010, online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 Mar 2010

Nemours: New efforts to reduce prevalence of overweight and obesity among Delaware's children

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Delaware children, ages 2-17, shows a flattening of the trajectory – no change- between 2006 and 2008. Because overweight and obesity rates had previously been climbing rapidly, the leveling-off is cause for optimism reports Nemours in the March 2010 edition of Health Affairs, a peer-reviewed publication and the country's most respected health policy journal.

3 Mar 2010

Lotus Pharmaceuticals adds five new prescription drugs to its products

Lotus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a growing developer and producer of prescription drugs and licensed national seller of pharmaceutical products in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), today reported that it had added five new prescription drugs to its products delivered through its national sales channels.

3 Mar 2010

Data demonstrating effectiveness of KALBITOR to treat acute HAE presented at AAAAI 2010 Annual Meeting

Data demonstrating the effectiveness of KALBITOR (ecallantide) to treat hereditary angioedema (HAE) acute attacks by primary attack location were provided in an oral presentation yesterday at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 2010 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

3 Mar 2010

Phase III study results of Merck's allergy immunotherapy tablet

In new data from a Phase III study in 345 children and adolescents (ages 5-17 years), patients with grass pollen allergic rhinoconjunctivitis treated with Merck's investigational sublingual grass (Phleum Pratense) allergy immunotherapy tablet (AIT) showed a 26 percent greater improvement in the total combined score (daily symptom score and daily medication score), compared to patients receiving placebo

3 Mar 2010

Rigel Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $0.48 per share for fourth-quarter 2009

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

2 Mar 2010

Asthma News and Research

Further Reading

Pediatrics researchers identify major gene location responsible for EoE

RWJF awards $480,000 grant to improve clinical care for low-weight babies

Worm proteins may provide option in management of gastrointestinal inflammation in IBD patients

Gene involved in susceptibility and resistance to TB identified

Toxicologists, environmental health scientists to discuss on safeguarding public health at SOT meeting

Using high-resolution CT-scans to screen for LAM is cost-effective in non-smoking women

Embedded wireless sensors in senior's homes to detect onset of dementia or physical infirmities

Philadelphia FRESH project: Door to door smoking cessation treatment for smokers with young children

Study: 73% of disadvantaged kids in Los Angeles County have untreated caries

Beta blockers improve heart function; eliminate need for implantable cardiac devices

FDA's recommendations over LABAs: AANMA advises patients to make informed decisions

Majority of PI patients can be switched to IgPro20 without dose adjustment

Step-up treatments may benefit children with asthma on low-dose inhaled corticosteroids

Merck’s MF/F Phase III study data presented at AAAAI annual meeting

Study: LABA can be effective step-up treatment for children whose asthma is not well controlled

Nemours: New efforts to reduce prevalence of overweight and obesity among Delaware's children

Lotus Pharmaceuticals adds five new prescription drugs to its products

Data demonstrating effectiveness of KALBITOR to treat acute HAE presented at AAAAI 2010 Annual Meeting

Phase III study results of Merck's allergy immunotherapy tablet

Rigel Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $0.48 per share for fourth-quarter 2009

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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